Changing Times
by HP Slash Luv
Summary: Written for the QaF giftxchage 2017. Justin's in the hospital. AGAIN.


**Title:** Changing Times  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Pairing(s)/Character(s):** Brian/Justin, Jennifer  
 **Warnings:** None  
 **Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.  
 **Word Count:** 1,634  
 **Summary:** Written for the QaF giftxchage 2017. Justin's in the hospital. AGAIN.

 **Notes:** This betaed by Predec2.

* * *

Brian stared at the blank, white wall. He remembered the last time he was forced to stare at a similar wall. Thankfully, that time had a good ending. He hoped the ending this time would be just as good.

His phone rang and people that were in the hallway looked at him and glared. Cell phones were supposed to be turned off, after all.

He didn't bother with any apologies as he stood up, took out his phone, and without looking at the screen, answered it as he walked down the hallway and out of the door at the end. "Hello?" he asked dully.

"Where are you!?" a voice screeched.

Brian closed his eyes. "Mikey, I'm in New York."

"I can't believe you're in New York to visit Justin! He didn't think of you enough to come to Pittsburgh, so you decided to disappoint Gus for him? He's being a selfish shit, and now you're being one, too!"

"Shut up," Brian interrupted him. "You have no idea what's going on!"

"I don't know what's going on? Yeah, right. All he probably did was bat his eyelashes, and you went running..."

Brian hung up, not wanting to hear anymore of the 'evil Justin' tirade. He glanced at his watch. Jennifer should be here in another hour hopefully. If there's no more delays, that is.

His phone rang again, and this time Brian looked at the screen.

Debbie.

Not wanting to be reprimanded for hanging up on her precious son, he ignored the call. After a moment's thought, he put the phone on vibrate. He didn't want to turn it off in case Jennifer had to call him, or Daphne.

As he walked back into the hallway, he put the phone in his pocket before returning to his seat. He sat back down and once again stared at the wall.

Brian didn't know how long he sat there, but he eventually heard the hurried click of heels. He looked to see Jennifer almost running towards him, her blue eyes filled with worry.

He stood up and took her in his arms when she got close enough.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on for dear life. "Any news?"

"Not yet," he answered softly.

They sat down side-by-side. Their hands were tightly clasped, and Jennifer leaned her head against Brian's shoulder. "Times sure have changed. The last time Justin was in this predicament, I would never have considered leaning on you for support," she whispered.

Brian let out a short, derisive laugh. "That was five years ago. I never thought I would still be with Justin after five years, so I never thought I'd have to be here again."

"He'll be okay," she murmured, and he wasn't sure if it was for his benefit or for hers.

"Yeah, he will," Brian agreed, even though it took everything in him to continue holding onto hope.

More time passed before, at last, a doctor came out. "Anyone here for Justin Taylor?"

Jennifer and Brian immediately stood up, their hands still clasped.

"How is he?" Jennifer asked.

The doctor looked from one to the other.

Brian hurriedly explained, "She's his mother, and I'm his power of attorney. How is he?"

The doctor nodded. "When Mr. Taylor fell off the ladder, he hadn't been that high up. And in normal circumstances it wouldn't have been as worrisome as it was for him. With his previous head injury, however, any type of impact to the head — no matter how small — is always a cause for concern."

"And?" Jennifer implored.

"We did an x-ray, and thankfully, there's isn't a sign of swelling or any permanent damage."

"Will he wake up?" Brian asked.

"Right now, he's in a medically induced coma, but there shouldn't be any issues with him waking up."

"When can we see him?" Jennifer asked.

"We're going to keep him in ICU overnight to keep an eye on him, just in case. As long as there are no problems, he'll be moved to a regular room tomorrow, and you'll be able to visit as soon as he's settled, so I'd recommend you two going to your hotel and try to get some sleep."

Jennifer nodded. And when the doctor left, she turned to Brian. "You're not leaving, are you?"

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't think so. Do you want me to get anything for you? Maybe some coffee?"

"I'm okay. I think I'm just going to step outside and call Lindsay. Hopefully, Gus is still awake and I can talk to him."

She nodded.

He walked slowly out of the hospital, his mind whirling with everything that had happened. He was sure Justin had taken ten years off his life ever since he had met the twink six years ago. Surely, Justin couldn't be good for his health.

Once he was out in the fresh air, he took out his cell phone and noticed many missed calls from the usual suspects. There were voicemails, but he didn't listen to them.

Instead, he pressed and held the number 4, his speed dial for Lindsay. He put the phone to his ear and listened as it rang.

"Brian! How could you choose to go to New York for Justin and not be here to see Gus? He lives in Canada; he doesn't get to see his daddy all of the time. You should have been here!"

"Are you done!?" Brian growled. "In case you were interested about the reason for my being in New York, Justin fell off a ladder and was knocked unconscious. He's in the hospital, and with a head injury in his history, the doctors were worried."

"Brian, I'm..."

"Stop," Brian interrupted the meaningless apology. "Is Gus still awake?"

"Brian..."

"I want to talk to Gus; he's the reason I'm calling. If he's sleeping, I'll call tomorrow morning."

"Hold on," she whispered, sounding choked.

He rolled his eyes. She wasn't going to make him feel guilty for snapping at her. Not this time.

"Daddy?" Gus's voice came on the line a few seconds later.

"Hey, Sonnyboy! I'm sorry I'm not there to see you. I'm hoping to be able to get back to Pittsburgh before your visit ends, though."

"You'll bring Justin, right?"

Brian smiled. "That's definitely my plan. Listen, you know I'd do anything I could to be there, right?"

"Right," Gus parroted.

"Justin got hurt earlier today. He hit his head, so he had to go to the hospital. He'll be fine, but that's the only reason I'm here instead of there."

"Can you tell Justin I love him and want him to get better?"

"Tell you what. I can't see Justin until tomorrow, but if he's up to it, I'll have him call you, and you can tell him yourself."

"Okay. Take good care of Justin for me," Gus commanded.

"Yes, Sir," Brian joked and chuckled when he heard Gus call for his mom. His smile left his face at the sound of Lindsay's voice.

"Brian, will Justin..."

"He's fine, but I have to get going." He didn't wait to hear anything else and ended the call.

He walked back into the hospital, and after allowing Jennifer to kiss him on the cheek, he made himself comfortable on his now very familiar chair.

The next day, he didn't get to see Justin until 10 AM. Jennifer went in first, but then Brian followed soon after, and was relieved to see Justin's blue eyes open, clear and in focus.

Justin had a tired smile on his face. "This is definitely not the Christmas I expected to have."

Brian sat down on the chair next to the bed. "Tell me about it, Twat. You have to stop ending up in the hospital."

"It's not like I try to," Justin lightly argued. His smile left his face. "You should be in Pittsburgh with Gus."

"Don't," Brian ordered. "I called Gus and explained the situation. He understands. In fact, he understood better than Mikey and Linds."

Justin looked at him knowingly. "They didn't even let you explain why you were in New York, did they?"

Brian shook his head.

"Figures."

Brian took Justin's hand. "If you get out of here quickly enough, I'm planning to get both of us to Pittsburgh to see Gus. He made sure I was intending on bringing you with me."

Justin allowed a ghost of a smile to flicker across his lips. "I really want to see him, too."

Brian squeezed his hand.

Justin shook his head. "I'm fine, Bri. Really. I was careless, and that was why I fell."

"Should I make it known that you're no longer allowed to go on ladders now?"

"You can try, but I can guarantee I won't listen to you."

"You never listen to me."

"Exactly," Justin replied cheerily, or as cheerily as he could, considering the circumstances.

"You have to call Gus today. I made him a promise that you would if you felt up to it."

"Well, I don't want to interrupt the Christmas morning traditions over there, so I'll call after lunch."

Brian leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Justin's lips.

The blond moaned, and then whimpered when Brian pulled away. "Too bad I'm in a hospital," he murmured with a pout.

"It wouldn't be my first fuck in a hospital, but I don't think your mom wants to be a witness to that show."

Justin laughed boisterously, and the sound warmed Brian's heart.

Once upon a time, Brian wouldn't have even gone into the hospital room; he wouldn't have wanted Justin to know about his presence, but he no longer felt scared about showing vulnerability, at least not where Justin was concerned.

Jennifer had been right.

The times sure have changed.


End file.
